System, method, infrastructure, and vehicle for automated valet parking

ABSTRACT

An automated parking system and a method enables a vehicle to autonomously travel to and parks in a vacant parking slot based on communication with a parking infrastructure. In addition, the automated parking system and method for a driverless vehicle is capable of autonomously traveling from a parking slot to a pickup area via communication with the parking infrastructure.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of non-provisional U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/678,559, filed on Nov. 8, 2019, which claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0137309, filed on Nov. 9, 2018, the entire contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a system, method, infrastructure, and vehicle for performing automated valet parking.

BACKGROUND

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

Many modern cities suffer from various problems associated with vehicle parking. For example, there is a risk of a car collision in a parking lot. For parking in crowded places such as large shopping centers, it takes long time and much energy to park a car due to traffic congestion before entering a parking lot. In addition, it takes long time and much energy to locate a vacant parking slot even after entering a parking lot. In addition, there is inconvenience that a driver has to walk to a spot at which his or her vehicle is parked when leaving the visited area or that sometimes the driver forgets where the vehicle is parked.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides an automated valet parking method in which a vehicle autonomously travels to and parks in a vacant parking slot after the vehicle stops in a drop-off area at which the driver exits the vehicle.

The present disclosure also provides an automated valet parking method in which when a driver claims his or her vehicle to leave a visited area, the vehicle that is parked in a parking slot autonomously travels from the parking slot to a pickup area at which the driver conveniently gets in the vehicle to leave the parking lot.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an automated valet parking method includes: initiating an automated valet parking procedure; transmitting, by a parking infrastructure, a target position and a guide route to the target position; performing, by the vehicle, autonomous driving to the target position along the guide route; performing, by the vehicle, autonomous parking to the target position; and ending the automated valet parking procedure.

The target position may include a destination to be reached by the vehicle, and the destination may include a vacant parking slot in a parking lot.

The target position may include a destination to be reached by the vehicle, and the destination may include a specific spot near a vacant parking slot in a parking lot.

The vehicle autonomously may park to the target position using an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) after reacting the specific spot.

The ADAS may include a partially automated parking system (PAPS).

The guide route may be information including distances and vehicle operations, and the vehicle operations may include traveling forward, traveling backward, turning left, and turning right.

The guide route may include a parking lot map in which a plurality of waypoints and one target position are present.

The method may further include: determining, by an infrastructure, the target position and the guide route, and transmitting the target position and the guide route to the vehicle.

The transmitting the target position and the guide route may include: generating an virtual leading vehicle, generating an virtual lane, and transmitting the virtual leading vehicle and the virtual lane.

The performing of the autonomous driving may include activating the ADAS.

The ADAS may include an adaptive cruise control (ACC) unit and a lane following assist (LFA) unit.

The performing of the autonomous parking may include activating the ADAS.

The ADAS may include a partially automated parking system (PAPS).

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

DRAWINGS

In order that the disclosure may be well understood, there will now be described various forms thereof, given by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an automated valet parking system;

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating an autonomous valet parking apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a conceptual view illustrating an automated valet parking system and method;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating operations for automated valet parking performed by an infrastructure and a vehicle that work with each other;

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a communication process performed by a vehicle and an infrastructure for automated valet parking;

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a communication process performed by a vehicle and an infrastructure for automated valet parking;

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a communication process performed by a vehicle and an infrastructure for automated valet parking; and

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an automated valet parking method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.

Herein below, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The construction and operational effect of the present disclosure will be clearly understood from the following detailed description. Prior to describing the exemplary embodiments in detail, it is noted that a detailed description about existing components and functions is omitted when the subject matter of the present disclosure may be obscured by the description.

It is also noted that terms used in the detailed description of the present disclosure are defined below.

The term “driver” refers to a person who uses an automated valet parking service provided by an automated valet parking system.

The term “driving authority” refers to the authority to drive and control a vehicle. The term “vehicle operation” refers to an operation such as steering, accelerating, braking, gear shifting, vehicle starting, and door locking and unlocking of a vehicle.

The term “vehicle” refers to a vehicle having an automated valet parking feature.

The term “control center” refers to a facility that can monitor vehicles parked in a parking garage or facility, which determines a target position, a guide route, and a permitted driving area, and which transmits a driving start instruction or an emergency stop instruction to a vehicle.

The term “infrastructure” refers to a parking facility and includes sensors. Alternatively, the infrastructure refers to a control center that controls a parking lot gate, vehicles in a parking lot, etc.

The term “target position” refers to a vacant parking slot available for parking. Alternatively, the term “target position” refers to a pickup area where a driver gets in his or her vehicle in a situation when the driver leaves the parking lot.

The term “guide route” refers to a route along which a vehicle travels to reach a target position. For example, at the time of parking a vehicle, the guide route is a route along which the vehicle travels until reaching a vacant parking space after starting from a drop-off area. For example, the guide route is provided in the form of instructions, for example, “traveling forward a distance of 50 m and turning left at the corner”.

The term “driving route” refers to a driving path along which a vehicle travels.

The term “permitted driving area” refers to an area where a vehicle can travel in a parking lot. For example, the permitted driving area includes the driving route. The permitted driving area is defined with barrier walls, parked vehicles, parking lines, etc.

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an automated valet parking system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 1 , an automated valet parking system 10 includes an infrastructure 100 and an autonomous valet parking apparatus 200.

The infrastructure 100 refers to a facility or system for operating, managing, and controlling an automated valet parking system. For example, the infrastructure 100 may be a parking facility. According to embodiments, the infrastructure 100 includes sensors, communication devices, alarm devices, display devices, and a server device that controls those devices. Alternatively, the infrastructure refers to a control center that controls a parking lot gate, vehicles in a parking lot, etc.

The autonomous valet parking apparatus 200 refers to a vehicle that can perform automated valet parking. According to embodiments, the autonomous valet parking apparatus 200 refers to a component or a set of components capable of performing automated valet parking.

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating an autonomous valet parking apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 2 , the autonomous valet parking apparatus 200 (i.e., vehicle) includes a sensor 210, a transceiver 220, a processor 230, and a vehicle controller 240.

The sensor 210 monitors the surroundings of the autonomous valet parking apparatus 200. According to one form, the sensor 210 measures the distance between the autonomous valet parking apparatus 200 and a specific object or detects an object that is present around the autonomous valet parking apparatus 200. For example, the sensor 210 includes at least one-type of sensor selected from among an ultrasonic sensor, a radar sensor, a lidar sensor, a camera, an infrared sensor, a thermal sensor, and a millimeter wave sensor.

The sensor 210 transmits data that is the detection results of the sensor 210 to the transceiver 220 or to the vehicle controller 230.

The transceiver 220 communicates the data with the infrastructure 100. This communication is called vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication. The transceiver 220 communicates the data with other vehicles. This communication is called vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication. The V2I communication and the V2V communication are collectively called vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication. In one form, the transceiver 220 receives the data (for example, a target position, a guide rote, a driving route, instructions, etc.) from the infrastructure 100, processes the received data, and transmits the processed data to the processor 230. The transceiver 220 transmits data collected and generated by the vehicle 200 to the infrastructure 100. According to embodiments, the transceiver 220 communicates the data with the terminal device of the driver of the vehicle 200.

The transceiver 220 receives and transmits the data according to a wireless communication protocol or a cable communication protocol. Examples of the wireless communication protocol include, not limitedly, wireless LAN (WLAN), digital living network alliance (DLNA), wireless broadband (Wibro), world interoperability for microwave access (Wimax), global system for mobile communication (GSM), code division multi access (CDMA), code division multi access 2000 (CDMA2000), enhanced voice-data optimized or enhanced voice-data only (EV-DO), wideband CDMA (WCDMA), high speed downlink packet access (HSPDA), high speed uplink packet access (HSUPA), IEEE802.16, long term evolution (LTE), long term evolution-advanced (LTE-A), wireless mobile broadband service (WMBS), Bluetooth, infrared data association (IrDA), ultra-wideband (UWB), ZigBee, near field communication (NFC), ultra sound communication (USC), visible light communication (VLC), Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi direct. Examples of the cable communication protocol include, but not limited to, wired local area network (LAN), wired wide area network (WAN), power line communication (PLC), USB communication, Ethernet communication, serial communication, and optical/coaxial cable communication. Other protocols that support communication between devices fall within the definition of the communication protocol that is used in the present disclosure.

The processor 230 controls the overall operation of the vehicle 200. The processor 230 controls the vehicle controller 240 on the basis of the data transmitted from the sensor 210 and from the transceiver 220. According to embodiments, the processor 230 generates a control signal for controlling the vehicle controller 240 on the basis of the data transmitted from the infrastructure 100 and then transmits the control signal to the vehicle controller 240.

That is, the processor 230 refers to a device that performs a series of calculations or makes a series of determinations to control the vehicle 200 and to perform automated valet parking. For example, the processor 230 is a processor that operates according to a computer program including instructions for performing automated valet parking.

The vehicle controller 240 controls the vehicle 200 according to the determination made by the processor 230. According to embodiments, the vehicle controller 240 controls the vehicle 200 according to the control signal transmitted from the processor 230. For example, the vehicle controller 240 controls various vehicle operations such as driving, stopping, resuming to travel, steering, accelerating, decelerating, lamp lighting, alarm sounding, etc.

That is, the vehicle controller 240 functions to control all kinds of operations of the vehicle 200 described herein.

On the other hand, although not described herein, the operations and/or functions of the vehicle 200 described in the description herein are performed by the conjunction of one or more components selected from among the sensor 210, the transceiver 220, the processor 230, and the vehicle controller 240.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual view illustrating an automated valet parking system and an automated valet parking method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 3 , in step (1), a driver drives a vehicle to a drop-off area at which the driver will exit the vehicle after passing through the entrance of a parking lot.

In step (2), the driver exits the vehicle at the drop-off area and the authority to drive or control the vehicle is delegated to the infrastructure.

In step (3), the infrastructure searches for a vacant parking slot and assigns a suitable vacant parking slot to the vehicle. The infrastructure determines a guide route leading to the assigned vacant parking slot. After the parking slot and the guide route are determined, the vehicle autonomously travels along the guide route to reach the parking slot and performs autonomous parking to the parking slot.

In step (4), the driver claims his or her vehicle parked in the parking lot and walks to a pickup area where the vehicle will be returned to the driver.

In step (5), the infrastructure determines a suitable target position. For example, the suitable target position may be a vacant parking slot of multiple parking slots within the pickup area. The infrastructure determines a guide route which leads the claimed vehicle to the target position. After the target position and the guide route are determined and transmitted to the vehicle, the vehicle autonomously travels along the guide route to reach the target position and performs autonomous parking.

In step (6), the driver arrives at the pickup area and takes over the authority to drive the vehicle. The driver drives the vehicle toward the exit of the parking lot.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating operations for automated valet parking performed by an infrastructure and a vehicle.

In step (1), an automated valet parking preparation process is performed. An infrastructure identifies a driver and a vehicle and determines whether the driver and the vehicle are qualified. For example, the infrastructure determines whether the driver is a qualified driver by reading an identification number (ID) or a password input by the driver. In addition, the infrastructure determines whether the vehicle is a qualified vehicle by reading to a vehicle identification number of the vehicle. The vehicle can turn on and off the engine thereof by itself. The vehicle can turn on and off a power supply by itself. For example, a state in which the engine of the vehicle is turned off and the power supply is turned on is referred to as an accessary-on (ACC-On) state. The engine on/off and the power on/off of the vehicle are performed according to an instruction transmitted from the infrastructure or automatically performed without depending on the instruction transmitted from the infrastructure. The vehicle can lock and unlock the doors by itself. The locking/unlocking of the vehicle doors is performed according to an instruction transmitted from the infrastructure or is autonomously performed by the vehicle without depending on the instruction from the infrastructure.

When the vehicle proceeds to an autonomous parking step, the doors of the vehicle may be locked. In addition, the driving authority of the vehicle is delegated to the infrastructure from the vehicle. The driving authority means an authority to perform the vehicle operations. The vehicle operations include steering, accelerating, braking, gear shifting, ignition turning, and door locking and unlocking. Since the driving authority of the vehicle is delegated to the infrastructure, the infrastructure can take complete control of the vehicle during the automated valet parking procedure of the vehicle. Accordingly, it is possible to lower a risk that unintended vehicle operations occur and to prevent vehicle accidents in the parking lot. However, in some cases, the driving authority may be partially delegated to the infrastructure so that the vehicle can still control some of the vehicle operations, or the driving authority may be shared by the vehicle and the infrastructure.

For example, a braking operation may be performed when an emergency occurs during the automated valet parking procedure. Therefore, the vehicle may apply a brake without intervention of the infrastructure when the vehicle senses a danger with help of an ADAS sensor. In addition, the vehicle checks whether a person or animal is present in the vehicle. Since a parking duration from the completion of the automated valet parking to the discharging of the vehicle from a parking lot is long, if a person or animal is accidently left in the vehicle while the vehicle is parked, the person or animal would be in danger. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the vehicle is empty before the vehicle is autonomously parked. Whether a person or animal is present in the vehicle is checked with a sensor mounted in the vehicle.

In step (2), a process of determining a target position, a guide route, and a driving route is performed. The determination of the target position, the guide route, and the driving route is performed by the infrastructure. The target position, the guide route, and the driving route determined by the infrastructure are delivered from the infrastructure to the vehicle.

The target position is a destination to be reached by the vehicle. When a vehicle enters a parking lot, the target position may be a vacant parking slot in a parking zone of the parking lot. When a vehicle exits a parking lot, the target position may be a vacant parking slot in the pickup area of the parking lot. Alternatively, the target position may be a specific spot in the vicinity of a vacant parking slot. For example, when there are several vacant parking slots that are successive in a specific area of the parking lot, the target position may be a specific spot in the vicinity of the specific area having the vacant parking slots. In this case, the vehicle autonomously travels to the specific spot, and an autonomous parking function of an advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) mounted in the vehicle is activated so that the vehicle can be parked in a desired parking slot in the vicinity of the specific spot. The autonomous parking function of the ADAS may be a partially automated parking system (PAPS). In this case, the efficiency of management of available parking spaces can be improved. In this case, it is not necessary for the infrastructure to accurately calculate the target position. That is, only rough estimation for the target position is desired. Therefore, it is possible to reduce computing resources for data processing.

The guide route is a path along which the vehicle needs to autonomously travel. The guide route is provided to the vehicle in the form of a series of instructions, such as traveling forward 10 meters straight, turning right at the first corner, traveling forward 20 meters straight, turning left, etc. Alternatively, the guide route is provided to the vehicle in the form of lines including straight lines and curved lines on a parking lot map. The lines indicate a driving lane from the current position to the target position on the parking lot map. Alternatively, the guide route is composed of multiple waypoints and one target position marked on a parking lot map. For example, the guide route includes three pillars A1, B2, an C3 as the multiple waypoints and a parking slot D23 as the target position. When the guide route is expressed in the form of multiple waypoints and a target position rather than straight and/or curved lines, distance information (for example, 10 m) is not required. Therefore, this guide route reduces the amount of information for V2I communication.

In step (3), an autonomous driving operation is performed in the parking lot. The autonomous driving of the vehicle includes traveling, stopping, and resuming to travel. The autonomous driving of the vehicle is performed according to an instruction transmitted from the infrastructure. Alternatively, the autonomous driving of the vehicle may be performed without relying on the instruction from the infrastructure. The vehicle can autonomously travel to the target position along the guide route within the permitted driving area. During the driverless autonomous driving of the vehicle, the vehicle is controlled to travel at a preset speed or below. This preset speed may be a value transmitted from the infrastructure to the vehicle or may be a value stored in the vehicle. In addition, the vehicle is controlled not to deviate from an error margin of the given guide route when traveling along the guide route. This preset error margin may be a value transmitted from the infrastructure to the vehicle or may be a value stored in the vehicle. In addition, the vehicle may turn with a predetermined minimum turning radius when it is desired to turn during the autonomous driving along the guide route. This preset minimum turning radius may be a value transmitted from the infrastructure to the vehicle or may be a value stored in the vehicle. The vehicle is controlled not to exceed a predetermined maximum acceleration value when autonomously driving along the guide route. This preset maximum acceleration value may be a value transmitted from the infrastructure to the vehicle or may be a value stored in the vehicle.

In step (4), a position measurement operation is performed. The target of the position measurement may be a vehicle to be parked in a parking lot, an obstacle existing in the parking lot, or a vehicle that is parked in the parking lot. The infrastructure measures the position of the vehicle or the obstacle and store the measured position in a database. The infrastructure identifies and detects vehicles or obstacles and monitors the safety of each of the plurality of vehicles in the parking lot. In addition, the infrastructure monitors the operating state of the vehicle that is performing autonomous parking after reaching the target position and transmits an instruction on the basis of the results of the monitoring. The vehicle measures its position. The vehicle transmits the measured position to the infrastructure. The error of the position measured by the vehicle needs to be within a predetermined error range. The predetermined error range is determined by the infrastructure. The vehicle detects obstacles present around the vehicle, measures the positions of the obstacles, and transmits the measured positions of the obstacles to the infrastructure. The frequency of communication between the vehicle and the infrastructure is a predetermined frequency.

In step (5), an autonomous parking operation is performed by the vehicle. The autonomous parking refers to an operation in which the vehicle that has reached around the target position driverlessly enters a target vacant parking slot. The vehicle performs autonomous parking by sensing nearby obstacles or vehicles that are parked by using a distance sensor mounted on the vehicle. Examples of the distance sensor mounted on the vehicle include an ultrasonic sensor, a radar sensor, a lidar sensor, and a camera.

In step (6), an emergency braking operation is performed. The emergency braking of the vehicle is performed according to an instruction transmitted from the infrastructure or may be performed by itself when the vehicle detects an obstacle. The infrastructure instructs the vehicle to apply an emergency brake when it is determined that an area around the vehicle is unsafe. When the infrastructure determines that the surroundings of the vehicle become safe after the emergency braking is performed, the infrastructure instructs the vehicle to resume autonomous driving or autonomous parking. When the vehicle detects an obstacle, the vehicle applies an emergency brake according to its own determination. In addition, the vehicle reports to the infrastructure the emergency braking that is performed by itself or the type or location of an obstacle which is the cause of the emergency braking. The vehicle reduces its speed according to a predetermined deceleration value preset for the emergency braking. This predetermined deceleration value is a value determined by the infrastructure or a value stored in the vehicle. The predetermined deceleration value may be determined according to the type of obstacle, the position of the obstacle, and the distance between the vehicle and the obstacle. The vehicle resumes autonomous driving or autonomous parking upon receiving a resumption instruction for the autonomous driving or autonomous parking from the infrastructure. Alternatively, the vehicle resumes the autonomous driving or autonomous parking when it confirms that the obstacle is removed. The vehicle reports to the infrastructure of the resumption of autonomous driving or autonomous parking and of the removal of the obstacle.

In step (7), the automated valet parking procedure is finished. After the vehicle has completed autonomous driving and autonomous parking, the infrastructure issues a control release instruction to the vehicle. The vehicle can turn on and off the engine and turn on and off the power supply according to an instruction received from the infrastructure or without depending on the instruction from the infrastructure. In addition, the vehicle can lock and unlock the vehicle doors according to an instruction received from the infrastructure or without depending on the instruction from the infrastructure. Further, the vehicle can apply a parking brake according to an instruction received from the infrastructure or without depending on the instruction from the infrastructure.

In step (8), an error control operation is performed. The error control is performed when an error occurs in communication between the vehicle and the infrastructure and/or when a mechanical error of the vehicle occurs. The infrastructure monitors communication with the vehicle to detect whether a communication error occurs. The vehicle detects a communication error by monitoring the communication with the infrastructure. The vehicle detects whether a mechanical error occurs by monitoring operating states of built-in accessories including sensors mounted thereon. The vehicle detects the presence of a person or animal in the vehicle and applies an emergency brake when the presence of a person or animal is detected. The vehicle resumes autonomous parking or autonomous driving according to an instruction received from the infrastructure when the vehicle is in an emergency stop state. Alternatively, the vehicle may determine, by itself, whether the cause of the emergency braking is removed and resumes autonomous parking or autonomous driving when the cause of the emergency parking is removed.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a communication process performed between the infrastructure for automated valet parking and a vehicle according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

In step (1), vehicle qualification information is delivered from the vehicle to the infrastructure. The vehicle qualification information includes an identifier that distinguishes each vehicle from other vehicles. For example, the vehicle qualification information may be a unique vehicle number (for example, license plate number) of the vehicle. The vehicle qualification information is transmitted when an automated valet parking preparation process is performed after the vehicle enters a parking lot (see bracketed reference numeral (1) of FIG. 4A).

In step (2), an automated valet parking preparation instruction is transmitted from the infrastructure to the vehicle. The automated valet parking preparation instruction is transmitted before the autonomous driving of the vehicle begins.

In step (3), vehicle information is transmitted from the vehicle to the infrastructure. The vehicle information includes state information of the vehicle and position information of the vehicle. The state information of the vehicle includes whether the vehicle is traveling, whether the vehicle is stopped, or whether the vehicle is in an emergency stop state. The vehicle information is transmitted periodically at a specific frequency (for example, 1 Hz which means once per second). The vehicle information is used as a parameter to determine whether a communication error has occurred between the vehicle and the infrastructure. For example, when the vehicle information does not reach the infrastructure at a predetermined time that is estimated according to the communication frequency, the infrastructure determines that an error has occurred in communication between the vehicle and the infrastructure.

In step (4), an acknowledgement of the reception of the vehicle information is transmitted from the infrastructure to the vehicle. The acknowledgement of the reception of the vehicle information is transmitted at the same frequency as the transmission of the vehicle information that is transmitted in step (3). Therefore, the acknowledgement of the reception of the vehicle information is used as a parameter to determine whether an error has occurred in communication between the vehicle and the infrastructure. For example, when the vehicle information does not reach the infrastructure at a predetermined time that is estimated according to the communication frequency, the infrastructure determines that an error has occurred in communication between the vehicle and the infrastructure.

In step (5), a target position and a guide route are delivered from the infrastructure to the vehicle. The delivery of the target position and the guide route may be performed either before or after an automated valet parking start instruction is transmitted from the infrastructure to the vehicle.

In step (6), driving-area boundary information is transmitted to the vehicle from the infrastructure. The driving-area boundary information includes landmarks (for examples, lines demarcating parking slots, a central line, and road boundary lines demarcating a driving lane) that mark the boundaries of a permitted driving area. The transmission of the driving-area boundary information is performed after the automated valet parking preparation instruction is delivered. This driving-area boundary information is transmitted from the infrastructure to the vehicle in the form of a parking lot map.

In step (7), the automated valet parking start instruction is transmitted from the infrastructure to the vehicle. The transmission of the automated valet parking start instruction is performed after the guide route and the driving-area boundary information are delivered. Alternatively, the automated valet parking start instruction is transmitted when the cause of the emergency braking is removed.

In step (8), an emergency brake instruction is transmitted to the vehicle from the infrastructure.

In step (9), a vehicle control release instruction is transmitted to the vehicle from the infrastructure. The delivery of the vehicle control release instruction is performed after the vehicle is autonomously parked in a parking slot.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a communication process performed between an infrastructure 100 for automated valet parking and a vehicle 200.

In step (1), the vehicle 200 enters a parking lot and stops at a predetermined stop position. This stop position may be an entrance gate of the parking lot. The vehicle 200 reports its arrival to the infrastructure 100. In step (2), the infrastructure 100 measures the dimensions of the vehicle 200 and authenticates the vehicle 200 on the basis of an authentication ID of the vehicle 200. In step (3), the infrastructure 100 transmits an authentication ID submission request to the vehicle 200. In step (4), the vehicle 200 transmits the authentication ID to the infrastructure 100. In step (5), the infrastructure 100 determines whether to allow entry of the vehicle 200 into the parking lot on the basis of the received authentication ID. In step (6), the infrastructure 100 notifies the vehicle whether the vehicle 200 is permitted to enter the parking lot according to the results of the authentication. For example, the infrastructure 100 display a message indicating approval or disapproval on a display panel installed around the stop position. The driver drives the vehicle 200 to a drop-off area when the entry of the vehicle into the parking lot is approved. In step (7), the driver turns off the ignition of the vehicle 200, gets off the vehicle 200, locks the vehicle doors, and leaves the drop-off area. In step (8), the authority to drive the vehicle 200 is delegated from the vehicle 200 (or the driver) to the infrastructure 100. In addition, in step (9), the infrastructure 100 notifies the driver that it takes the authority to control the vehicle 200 in the parking lot. Such a notification is sent to a driver's smart device through a mobile communication network.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a communication process performed between an infrastructure 100 for automated valet parking and a vehicle 200.

In step (1), the infrastructure 100 transmits a vehicle starting request to the vehicle 200 such that the vehicle 200 turns on the ignition. In step (2), the vehicle 200 turns on the ignition according to the vehicle starting request transmitted from the infrastructure 100. In step (3), the vehicle 200 turns on the ignition and then notifies the infrastructure 100 that the ignition is turned on 100. In step (4), the infrastructure 100 transmits an automated valet parking preparation request to the vehicle 200. In step (5), the vehicle 200 transmits a reply to the automated valet parking preparation request to the infrastructure 100. The replay is a message of OK indicating that the preparation for automated valet parking is completed or a message of NG indicating that the preparation for automated valet parking is not completed. In step (6), the infrastructure 100 transmits a synchronization request to the vehicle 200. The synchronization request is a request for instructing synchronization of the time such that the timer of the infrastructure 100 is synchronized with the timer of the vehicle 200. For example, the synchronization request includes information about time indicated by the timer of the infrastructure 100. In step (7), the vehicle 200 performs the synchronization according to the synchronization request. In step (8), the vehicle 200 transmits a replay indicating that the synchronization is completed to the infrastructure 100. For example, until the synchronization between the infrastructure 100 and the vehicle 200 is completed, a plurality of synchronization requests may be transmitted from the infrastructure 100 to the vehicle 200. In step (9), the infrastructure 100 transmits parking lot map information to the vehicle 200. The parking lot map information includes landmark information. In step (10), the vehicle 200 estimates (or calculates) the position of the vehicle 200 on the basis of the transmitted landmark information, and the vehicle 200 transmits the estimated position of the vehicle 200 to the infrastructure 100. In step (11), the infrastructure 100 determines a target position (parking position). In step (12), the infrastructure 100 transmits information on a permitted driving area to the vehicle 200. For example, the infrastructure 100 transmits boundary information of the permitted driving area to the vehicle 200. In step (13), the infrastructure 100 transmits a guide route to the vehicle 200. In step (14), the infrastructure 100 transmits an automated valet parking start instruction to the vehicle 200.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an automated valet parking method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

According to the present disclosure, the infrastructure 100 performs a step S810 of generating an virtual leading vehicle, a step S820 of generating an virtual lane, and a step S830 of transmitting a guide route.

Specifically, according to the present disclosure, the guide route includes virtual leading vehicle information and virtual lane information.

The virtual leading vehicle information is information on a virtual vehicle that does not physically exist but is imagined to lead an actual vehicle that is in the process of performing automated valet parking. The virtual leading vehicle information is information on a virtual vehicle that does not physically exist and which is generated by the infrastructure. For example, the virtual leading vehicle may be a virtual vehicle that leads an autonomous valet parking vehicle in a predetermined distance. As described below, the autonomous valet parking vehicle autonomously travels while following the virtual leading vehicle by using an advanced cruise control (ACC) function, which is also referred to as a smart cruise control (SCC) function, of the ADAS. The autonomous valet parking vehicle can autonomously travel by following the virtual leading vehicle using the built-in ADAS. In addition, since the autonomous valet parking vehicle uses a feature provided therein to perform autonomous driving, it is possible to reduce the burden of computations and data processing loaded on the infrastructure. In addition, when information on the virtual leading vehicle and information on another autonomous valet parking vehicle that is currently driving together are considered, the possibility of collision between the autonomous valet parking vehicles can be reduced.

The virtual lane information is information on a virtual lane that actually does not exist in the parking lot unlike the actual lane along which the autonomous valet parking vehicle travels. That is, the virtual lane information is information on a virtual lane that is not actually drawn on the ground of the parking lot and is information on the lane that is virtually generated by the infrastructure. For example, the virtual lane has the same width or the same color as the actual lane drawn on the actual road. The width or color of the virtual lane can be preset by the infrastructure. As described below, the autonomous valet parking vehicle can autonomously travel without deviating from the virtual lane by using a lane following assistance (LFA) function, which is also called a lane keeping assistance system (LKAS), of the ADAS. The autonomous valet parking vehicle can autonomously travel by following the virtual lane using the built-in ADAS. In addition, since the autonomous valet parking vehicle uses a feature provided therein to perform autonomous driving, it is possible to reduce the burden of computations and data processing loaded on the infrastructure. In addition, when the virtual lane information and information on another autonomous valet parking vehicle that is parked are considered, the possibility of collision between an autonomous valet parking vehicle that is autonomously traveling and an autonomous valet parking vehicle that is parked can be reduced.

The vehicle activates the advanced driver assistance (ADAS) mounted on the vehicle in step S840. For example, the activated ADAS includes the cruise control function (ACC, SCC), the lane keeping assistance function (LFA, LKAS), and the partially automated parking system (PAPS).

The vehicle performs autonomous driving in step S850. The ADAS that is activated when the vehicle performs autonomous driving includes the cruise control function and the lane keeping function. That is, the vehicle uses the cruise control to follow the virtual leading vehicle and the lane keeping assistance function to follow the virtual lane.

The vehicle performs autonomous parking in step S860. That is, when the vehicle reaches the target position, the vehicle performs the autonomous parking to a vacant parking slot by using the partial autonomous parking function.

Finally, the vehicle reports to the infrastructure that parking is completed in step S870.

Recent vehicles are equipped with an around view monitoring (AVM) function. The AVM is a function of displaying the images of the front, left, right and rear of the vehicle on a display device mounted in the vehicle. The AVM is a function that assists the driver in driving and parking. According to the present disclosure, the virtual leading vehicle and the virtual lane may be superimposed on the images displayed on the display device, and the superimposed images may be stored in the vehicle. In this case, when an accident occurs in the parking lot, it is easy to find the cause of the accident. In addition, according to the present disclosure, the images on the display device mounted in the vehicle can be transmitted in real time to the smartphone of the driver who is not seated in the vehicle. Therefore, the driver (owner) of the vehicle can monitor the vehicle that is currently under automated valet parking in real time.

In one or more exemplary embodiments, the described functions may be implemented in the form of hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in the form of software, these functions may be stored on or transmitted to a computer-readable medium in the form of one or more instructions or codes. The computer-readable medium refers to any medium that can transfer a computer program from one computer to another. For example, it may be a communication medium or a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium may be an arbitrary medium that can be accessed by a computer. The computer-readable media include, not limitedly, RAMs, ROMs, EEPROMs, optical discs such as CD-ROM, magnetic disks, and any media that can be accessed by computers and which can be used to transfer a computer program in the form of instructions from one place to another. The computer-readable media are appropriately referred to as media that can be arbitrarily accessed by computers. For example, software can be transferred from a website, server or other remote sources through a cable or over a wireless channel. Examples of the cables include coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair cable, and digital subscriber line (DSL). Examples of the wireless channel include infrared frequency waves, radio frequency waves, and ultrahigh frequency waves. In this case, the coaxial cable, the fiber optic cable, the twisted pair cable, the DL, and the wireless channels fall within the definition of the medium. The disks or discs include a compact disc (CD), a laser disc (LD), an optical disc (OD), a digital versatile disc (DVD), a floppy disk (FD), and a blu-ray disc. Discs generally refer to media from which data is optically read and disks refer to media from which data is magnetically read. Combinations of the above-mentioned media also fall within the definition of the computer-readable medium.

When embodiments are implemented as program code or code segments, the code segment may be a procedure, function, subprogram, program, routine, subroutine, module, software package, class, instructions, data structures, program command strings, or an arbitrary set of program command strings. One code segment may be connected with another code segment or a hardware circuit in a manner of transmitting and receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memory content. Information, arguments, parameters, data, and the like may be delivered, sent, or transmitted using any suitable means such as memory sharing, message delivery, token delivery, network transmission, and the like. In addition, in some aspects, steps and/or operations of a method or algorithm may reside on a mechanically readable medium and/or a computer-readable medium in the form of a combination or set of one or more codes and/or one or more instructions that can be integrated into a computer program product.

When implemented as software, the techniques described herein can be implemented as modules (for examples, procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described herein. Software codes may be stored in a memory unit and may be executed by a processor. The memory unit may be embedded in a processor or may be provided outside a processor. In this case, the memory unit may be communicatively connected with the processor by various means known in the art.

When implemented as hardware, processing units may be implemented as one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices designed to perform the functions described herein, or any combination of these.

The above-mentioned ones include one or more exemplary embodiments. Of course, the above-described embodiments do not cover all possible combinations of components and/or methods to implement the present disclosure. Thus, those skilled in the art will appreciate that many further combinations and substitutions of components and/or methods in various embodiments are possible. Accordingly, the above-described embodiments cover all such alterations, modifications, and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Moreover, as to the scope of the terms “comprises” used in the detailed description or the appended claims, it is noted that it is similarly interpreted as “comprising” that is used as a transitional word in the claims.

As used herein, the term “infer” or “inferencing” generally refers to a process of determining or inferring a state of a system, environment, and/or user from a set of observations of events and/or data. Inferencing can be used to identify a specific situation or action, or can generate a probability distribution of certain states, for example. Inferencing is probabilistic. That is, inferencing may mean a calculation of a probability distribution of those states, based on study on data and events. Inferencing may involve techniques used to construct a higher level event from a set of events and/or data. The inferencing refers to a process of inferring new events or actions from a set of observed events and/or stored event data, determining whether events are closely correlated in time, and determining whether the events and data come from one or several events and data sources.

Moreover, terms such as “component”, “module”, and “system” used herein may refer to, but not limitedly, hardware, firmware, any combination of hardware and software, software, or a computer entity associated with software being executed therein. For example, the term “component” may refer to, not limitedly, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable thread, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a computing device and the computing device itself may fall within the definition of the component. One or more components may reside within a process and/or an execution thread. One or more components may be collectively provided in one computer or distributed in two or more computers. In addition, these components can be executed on various computer readable media having various data structures stored thereon. Components can communicate a signal containing one or more data packets (for example, data from an arbitrary component that interacts with a local system, a component of a distributed system, and/or other systems on the basis of a signal that is transmitted over a network such as Internet) with a local and/or remote process. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An automated valet parking method comprising: initiating an automated valet parking procedure; determining, by an infrastructure, a target position and a guide route to the target position; transmitting, by the infrastructure, the target position and the guide route to a vehicle through a vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication; receiving, by the vehicle, the target position and the guide route to the target position through the V2I communication; performing, by the vehicle, autonomous driving toward the target position along the guide route; performing, by the vehicle, autonomous parking to the target position; and ending the automated valet parking procedure, wherein initiating the automated valet parking procedure comprises: receiving, by the infrastructure, a command to hand over an authority of the vehicle to the infrastructure, and transmitting, by the infrastructure, a signal notifying a result of acquiring the authority of the vehicle to a user device of the vehicle and to the vehicle.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the target position includes a destination to be reached by the vehicle, and the destination includes a vacant parking slot in a parking lot.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the target position includes a destination to be reached by the vehicle, and the destination includes a specific spot in the vicinity of a vacant parking slot in a parking lot.
 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the vehicle autonomously performs autonomous parking to the target position by using an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) after reaching the specific spot.
 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the ADAS includes a partially automated parking system (PAPS).
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the guide route is information including distances and vehicle operations, and the vehicle operations include traveling forward, traveling backward, turning left, and turning right.
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the guide route includes a parking lot map on which a plurality of waypoints and the target position are present.
 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein transmitting the target position and guide route comprises: generating a virtual leading vehicle; generating a virtual lane; and transmitting the virtual leading vehicle and the virtual lane.
 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein performing the autonomous driving comprises activating an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS).
 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the ADAS is configured to perform an adaptive cruise control (ACC) and a lane following assistance (LFA).
 11. The method according to claim 1, wherein performing the autonomous parking comprises activating an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS).
 12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the ADAS comprises a partially automated parking system (PAPS).
 13. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having a program recorded thereon, the program to direct a processor to perform acts of: initiating an automated valet parking procedure; determining, by an infrastructure, a target position and a guide route to the target position; transmitting, by the infrastructure, the target position and the guide route to a vehicle through a vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication; receiving, by the vehicle, the target position and the guide route to the target position through the V2I communication; performing, by the vehicle, autonomous driving toward the target position along the guide route; performing, by the vehicle, autonomous parking to the target position; and ending the automated valet parking procedure, wherein initiating the automated valet parking procedure comprises: receiving, by the infrastructure, a command to hand over an authority of the vehicle to the infrastructure, and transmitting, by the infrastructure, a signal notifying a result of acquiring the authority of the vehicle to a user device of the vehicle and to the vehicle.
 14. A vehicle capable of performing automated valet parking by communicating with an infrastructure, the vehicle comprising: a sensor configured to sense a surrounding environment of the vehicle; a transceiver configured to receive, from the infrastructure, a target position and a guide route through a vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, wherein the target position and the guide route are determined by the infrastructure; a processor configured to initiate an automated valet parking procedure, and control an autonomous driving operation of the vehicle based on the guide route, and an autonomous parking operation of the vehicle based on the target position; and a vehicle controller configured to control the vehicle with a control signal provided by the processor, wherein the transceiver is further configured to receive, from the infrastructure, a command to hand over an authority of the vehicle to the infrastructure, and wherein the transceiver is further configured to receive, from the infrastructure, a signal notifying a result of acquiring the authority of the vehicle.
 15. The vehicle according to claim 14, wherein the target position comprises a destination to be reached by the vehicle, and the destination comprises a vacant parking slot in a parking lot.
 16. The vehicle according to claim 14, wherein the target position comprises a destination to be reached by the vehicle, and the destination comprises a specific spot in the vicinity of a vacant parking slot in a parking lot.
 17. The vehicle according to claim 14, wherein the guide route comprises a parking lot map on which a plurality of waypoints and the target position are present. 